


Ready To Go

by This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username



Series: A Collection of One-Shots for THC [22]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Death, Everything Hurts, I'm crying, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Why Did I Write This?, my heart is gone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 04:13:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13286742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username/pseuds/This_Time_I_Wont_Regret_My_Username
Summary: Harry didn't want to believe it. He hadn't accepted it, even as he'd held that pale hand in his own. He just needs to shower... he'll wake up from this the next day, and it'll all have been a nightmare. One awful nightmare.Harry knows, though, that this is real. It just hurts so bad to believe it.





	Ready To Go

Harry sighed as he stumbled out of the fireplace, not even bothering to brush the soot off his robes as he kicked off his shoes. He'd just come from St. Mungo's.

His hands shook as he unbuttoned his coat and dropped it on the couch as he passed it on his way to the bathroom.

He just... just needed a shower.

Slowly, he took off his clothes, letting them drop to the floor carelessly. Stifling a yawn, he stepped into the shower, turning on the water. Shivers went up his whole body, but Harry didn't have the energy to care; he was just so tired. Reaching out for the shampoo from memory, he carried on going through the motions, not even registering that he hadn't even turned on the light.

He didn't want to think about it.

He leaned against the wall, soap suds running down his back, and closed his eyes. It couldn't be true. It _had_ to be a dream. Harry hoped with all his might that this was just a nightmare.

_Pale skin, looking whiter than the sheets around him. His freckles were dusty, hardly there like they should've been. Peach fuzz where thick red hair used to be._

_But Ron had smiled. Faint, and barely there. It was still enough to crack his lips and make them bleed. He brought a hand to his gray lips, gently dabbing at the blood._

_"Oops," he said weakly._

_"How are you feeling?" That was Harry. Ron tried for a joke, but his voice broke before he even got a word out. Tears rolled down his cheeks for the first time._

_"I... I'm ready to go now, Harry," Ron whispered._

_Harry grabbed his hand. Harry wanted to shout at Ron. His hand wasn't supposed to be so heavy! He wasn't supposed to be so cold! "Okay," Harry whispered instead._

_Ron sighed gratefully. Harry missed Ron's smile._

The water continued to rush over Harry. It wasn't replaced by warm sheets. _This was real_.

Harry sank to the floor of the shower, drawing his knees up to his chest, his head flopping back against the hard, cold wall.

He wanted to throw up. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sleep.

His heart shattered as realization sunk in. It had been surreal before, but now it hit him like a bag of bricks.

The tears fell against his will, quickly turning into silent sobs that almost ripped chest apart.

The freezing cold water mixed with his tears, washing them away and masking all traces of Harry's sorrow. The sound of the drops hitting the tiles were covering up the escaped whimpers.

Ron really was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> *gross sobbing*  
> I honestly don't know why I do this to myself. You should've seen the hot mess this was before it was beta'd, I'd been crying so much while I wrote it. Many thanks to VanillaAshes for beta-ing this!  
> The prompt was "A much needed shower [Prompt/Situation]." So, naturally, this came out of that.  
> This was written while listening to "Cancer" by My Chemical Romance on loop.  
> Please leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked this!


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